A Search for Ionized Gas in the Draco and Ursa Minor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

The Wisconsin H Alpha Mapper has been used to set the first deep upper limits on the intensity of diffuse H alpha emission from warm ionized gas in the Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) Draco and Ursa Minor. Assuming a velocity dispersion of 15 km/s for the ionized gas, we set limits for the H alpha intensity of less or equal to 0.024 Rayleighs and less or equal to 0.021 Rayleighs for the Draco and Ursa Minor dSphs, respectively, averaged over our 1 degree circular beam. Adopting a simple model for the ionized interstellar medium, these limits translate to upper bounds on the mass of ionized gas of approximately less than 10% of the stellar mass, or approximately 10 times the upper limits for the mass of neutral hydrogen. Note that the Draco and Ursa Minor dSphs could contain substantial amounts of interstellar gas, equivalent to all of the gas injected by dying stars since the end of their main star forming episodes more than 8 Gyr in the past, without violating these limits on the mass of ionized gas.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, AASTeX two-column format. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

HEAT TRANSFER WITH LAMINAR FLOW IN CONCENTRIC ANNULI WITH CONSTANT AND VARIABLE WALL TEMPERATURE AND HEAT FLUX

Heat transfer with laminar flow in concentric annuli with constant and variable wall temperature and heat flu

Properties of AGN coronae in the NuSTAR era

The focussing optics of NuSTAR have enabled high signal-to-noise spectra to be obtained from many X-ray bright Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and Galactic Black Hole Binaries (BHB). Spectral modelling then allows robust characterization of the spectral index and upper energy cutoff of the coronal power-law continuum, after accounting for reflection and absorption effects. Spectral-timing studies, such as reverberation and broad iron line fitting, of these sources yield coronal sizes, often showing them to be small and in the range of 3 to 10 gravitational radii in size. Our results indicate that coronae are hot and radiatively compact, lying close to the boundary of the region in the compactness - temperature diagram which is forbidden due to runaway pair production. The coincidence suggests that pair production and annihilation are essential ingredients in the coronae of AGN and BHB and that they control the shape of the observed spectra.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Occultation Mapping of the Central Engine in the Active Galaxy MCG -6-30-15

The colossal power output of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is believed to be fueled by the accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole. This central accreting region of AGN has hitherto been spatially unresolved and its structure therefore unknown. Here we propose that a previously reported `deep minimum' in the X-ray intensity of the AGN MCG-6-30-15, was due to a unique X-ray occultation event and that it probes structure of the central engine on scales < 1e14 cm, or 1.4e-7 arcseconds. The data are consistent with a bright central source surrounded by a less intense ring, which we identify with the inner edge of an accretion disk. These may be the first direct measurements of the spatial structure and geometry of the accreting black-hole system in an active galaxy.If the ring of X-ray emission is identified with the inner edge of an accretion disk, upper limits on the BH mass can be derived. Our occultation interpretation is controversial in the sense that X-ray variability in AGNs is normally attributed to intrinsic physical changes in the X-ray emission region, such as disk or coronal instabilities.Comment: 15 pages, 2 Figures. Latex with separate postscript figure files. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

A computer operated mass spectrometer system

Digital computer system for processing mass spectrometer output dat

Computer control of mass analyzers

Digital computer control of mass spectrometer

Jet Acceleration by Tangled Magnetic Fields

We explore the possibility that extragalactic radio jets might be accelerated by highly disorganized magnetic fields that are strong enough to dominate the dynamics until the terminal Lorentz factor is reached. Following the twin-exhaust model by Blandford & Rees (1974), the collimation under this scenario is provided by the stratified thermal pressure from an external medium. The acceleration efficiency then depends on the pressure gradient of that medium. In order for this mechanism to work there must be continuous tangling of the magnetic field, changing the magnetic equation of state away from pure flux freezing (otherwise conversion of Poynting flux to kinetic energy flux is suppressed). This is a complementary approach to models in which the plasma is accelerated by large scale ordered fields. We include a simple prescription for magnetic dissipation, which leads to tradeoffs among conversion of magnetic energy into bulk kinetic energy, random particle energy, and radiation. We present analytic dynamical solutions of such jets, assess the effects of radiation drag, and comment on observational issues, such as the predicted polarization and synchrotron brightness. Finally, we try to make the connection to observed radio galaxies and gamma-ray bursts.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

X-ray and UV correlation in the quiescent emission of Cen X-4, evidence of accretion and reprocessing

We conducted the first long-term (60 days), multiwavelength (optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray) simultaneous monitoring of Cen X-4 with daily Swift observations, with the goal of understanding variability in the low mass X-ray binary Cen X-4 during quiescence. We found Cen X-4 to be highly variable in all energy bands on timescales from days to months, with the strongest quiescent variability a factor of 22 drop in the X-ray count rate in only 4 days. The X-ray, UV and optical (V band) emission are correlated on timescales down to less than 110 s. The shape of the correlation is a power law with index gamma about 0.2-0.6. The X-ray spectrum is well fitted by a hydrogen NS atmosphere (kT=59-80 eV) and a power law (with spectral index Gamma=1.4-2.0), with the spectral shape remaining constant as the flux varies. Both components vary in tandem, with each responsible for about 50% of the total X-ray flux, implying that they are physically linked. We conclude that the X-rays are likely generated by matter accreting down to the NS surface. Moreover, based on the short timescale of the correlation, we also unambiguously demonstrate that the UV emission can not be due to either thermal emission from the stream impact point, or a standard optically thick, geometrically thin disc. The spectral energy distribution shows a small UV emitting region, too hot to arise from the accretion disk, that we identified as a hot spot on the companion star. Therefore, the UV emission is most likely produced by reprocessing from the companion star, indeed the vertical size of the disc is small and can only reprocess a marginal fraction of the X-ray emission. We also found the accretion disc in quiescence to likely be UV faint, with a minimal contribution to the whole UV flux.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Proc. Int. Conf. Physics at the Magnetospheric Boundary, Geneva, Switzerland (25-28 June, 2013

Daily, multiwavelength Swift monitoring of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary Cen X-4: evidence for accretion and reprocessing during quiescence

We conducted the first long-term (60 days), multiwavelength (optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray) simultaneous monitoring of Cen X-4 with daily Swift observations from June to August 2012, with the goal of understanding variability in the low mass X-ray binary Cen X-4 during quiescence. We found Cen X-4 to be highly variable in all energy bands on timescales from days to months, with the strongest quiescent variability a factor of 22 drop in the X-ray count rate in only 4 days. The X-ray, UV and optical (V band) emission are correlated on timescales down to less than 110 s. The shape of the correlation is a power law with index gamma about 0.2-0.6. The X-ray spectrum is well fitted by a hydrogen NS atmosphere (kT=59-80 eV) and a power law (with spectral index Gamma=1.4-2.0), with the spectral shape remaining constant as the flux varies. Both components vary in tandem, with each responsible for about 50% of the total X-ray flux, implying that they are physically linked. We conclude that the X-rays are likely generated by matter accreting down to the NS surface. Moreover, based on the short timescale of the correlation, we also unambiguously demonstrate that the UV emission can not be due to either thermal emission from the stream impact point, or a standard optically thick, geometrically thin disc. The spectral energy distribution shows a small UV emitting region, too hot to arise from the accretion disk, that we identified as a hot spot on the companion star. Therefore, the UV emission is most likely produced by reprocessing from the companion star, indeed the vertical size of the disc is small and can only reprocess a marginal fraction of the X-ray emission. We also found the accretion disc in quiescence to likely be UV faint, with a minimal contribution to the whole UV flux.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, 4 table

Scheduling language and algorithm development study. Volume 3, phase 2: As-built specifications for the prototype language and module library

Detailed specifications of the prototype language and module library are presented. The user guide to the translator writing system is included